Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat

by David Silver

304 - Learning From the Past

Reaching out into the void between worlds, Fetlock set what was essentially an advertisement.

Wanted: 1 foal
Sex: Male
Tribe: Unicorn
Mother: (picture of Samantha smiling eagerly at the camera)
Duties involve being very young and learning at the hooves of your mother and extended family.

With it was a swirl of impressions and scents, everything she could extract from what Samantha had brought, to help filter in the best ideal target.

Fetlock's eyes were closed, focused on the calling. Even she didn't entirely understand it, but she could feel the great writhing mass that was the infinite possibilities, slowly winnowed down as she focused, each tagged briefly by her own subconscious, judged instantly, burrowing ever deeper towards the target.

In Silver's eyes, it was another thing entirely. He could see countless people flashing just above Fetlock, each face only visible for a brief instant before being lost to the next. Young, old. Male, female. Caucasion, hispanic, asian, black, both in american and african varities. It was a dizzying assault of what humanity had to offer, coming and going without delay.

He heard Samantha gasp softly. She could see it too, bedazzled by it just as surely. "My ancestors," she gusted out, a pad appearing, notes being taken furiously. "I did not expect an emotional response to this moment."

"Silence." Fetlock was still sifting through the possibilities. To a pony that couldn't see the unseen as Silver and Samantha could, the runes of the room would have been more fascinating, glowing and scintillating with power, reflecting the possibilities, but in no more than strange hues. "Oh, hm..."

The images were slowing, just a little. Barely noticeable if it hadn't come with her words. Was she coming closer to an answer? Silver did his best to be still and quiet as the array of humanity came to a slow halt. "Here fishy..." She clucked her tongue and her horn flashed, magic wrapping around an image of a smiling little girl. Asian, maybe 4-6'sh years old? "Gotcha." She made a wrenching motion with her head.

But the magic was not following the motion, instead pressing tight into the image from all angles, peeling away with an echo, a reflection of the image. The image faded away entirely, fading into the ether. The magic slammed down into the center of the runes. The jar was engulfed in the magic, melting away, merging with it and it began to rise in a new shape of pure light that faded quickly into a dappled pink and white form, a tiny unicorn filly flopping over with a tiny squeak of surprise.

Silver inclined his head faintly. "I... see..."

Breathing hard, but recovering, Fetlock nodded as her eyes opened. "Ah, already in pony form. An ideal match." She clopped her hooves together once firmly. "It doesn't always work out that well."

Samantha's magic began patting and feeling over the young pony. "Heartrate is good, breath is good... Vitals are solid." She nodded with a growing smile. "Your operation was a success."

"But it isn't what you thought it was." Not that it had stopped Fetlock, so far Silver saw. "You are not kidnapping humans."

Fetlock frowned at him. "What am I doing, and how could you know better?"

Samantha raised a hoof. "I can provide corroborating testimony."

"You too?!" Fetlock peered at Samantha as if betrayed. "I thought you were a... an ally."

Silver rose to his hooves, over Fetlock. "Your magic involves humans, but only as a source, a pattern." He sat on his haunches, flumping to the ground. "The human you just took is still where they started. Your magic just made a copy, like soft clay against a pattern."

Samantha clopped her hooves happily. "You should be happy, this means we do not have to take action against you and we can continue to conspire to greater feats of science."

Fetlock raised a brow. "Wait..."

"You were never hurting anything," concluded Silver.

"Wait..." Fetlock blew up at her hair, which hadn't fallen down, a habit? The bun it was in kept it out of the way. "I'm not hurting anything?"

"On the contrary, you're doing something amazing."

Samantha bobbed her head. "You're making magic into life. That's a big feat, incredible." She spread her hooves. "Astounding!" She leaned in at her fellow mad scientist. "I wasn't even sure that was possible."

"But..." Fetlock rested her head against a hoof. "I've been hiding."

"Very well," agreed Silver. "But you don't have to. You're not breaking any laws."

"But I thought I was!" screamed Fetlock, stomping the ground in a sudden tantrum. "This doesn't make sense!"

"Boss?!" There was Gudrun, claws out, eyes alight with the preparedness to enter the fray. She glared at Silver and Samantha, clearly ready to engage them.

Silver raised a hoof only mildly, not even even with Gudrun's center. "No fight going on here."

"No," shakily agreed Fetlock, reaching up to undo the bun, allowing her hair to fall down in a sheet, obscuring her vision. She puffed it out of the air, clicking her tongue. "These two have just said I'm living a lie."

A little noise drew eyes across the room. The colt was sitting up, little wide eyes looking around. A little confused whicker escaped it.

"Momma's here." With a glowing horn, Samantha drew the little one close, stroking him the moment his head was close enough to her hoof. "You're safe."

The two began to nuzzle and sniff, learning one another. And then Fetlock's hoof came down between them, to both of their surprise's. "Your father just ruined my life." She raised that hoof to point at Samantha directly, hoof to snout. "Has he done that to you? Be honest."

"Of course." Samantha gathered up her scared colt, rocking them gently. "He does it all the time, well, he did. He's calmed down with me. He used to make me question myself constantly. It was very concerning."

"Concerning, yes." Fetlock turned away from Samantha, back to Gudrun. "Finish your break."

"You sure you're alright?" She gave Silver a fresh glare. "I can take care of him."

"He's a paying customer." That was answer enough, sending the griffon back where she came from. "Sorry about that. She's very defensive of me. I'm flattered, in a way, but mostly confused. I do not know how I earned her affection." She blew up against her unruly mane. "So you will not arrest me?"

Silver's horn glowed as he pulled free his money pouch and began setting coins out of it to the floor. "You did exactly what we asked for." Arresting someone as a reward for doing that felt wrong. "And we just verified you aren't actually kid, er, foalnapping anything."

"Then what am I doing?" demanded Fetlock, her right eye twitching faintly. "Tell me that, since you know everything. What. Am. I. Doing?"

Silver pointed half around her, to her rump. "Exactly what's there."

"Huh?" She looked over her shoulder to her cutie mark. "What?"

"You're filling holes. You're pressing that soft clay into the void, the missing spot, filling it with magic, and bidding it to fill the hole." He inclined his head faintly. "You still have some practice to do, but that isn't... by itself wrong."

"Fraught with ethical considerations," noted Samantha in a cheerful voice. "But not wrong wrong." She wobbled a hoof. "Much like many of my own experiments!" She resumed nuzzling her newly gained child. "Gonna raise you so well. I will take notes on your progress every step of the way. Oh. You have a brother. I hope you two get along. He's nice, if a little prickly. He'll be your older brother."

Silver couldn't help but to smile a little at Samantha's eager greeting of her child. The colt looked like they were enjoying their part, if not entirely understanding. "Maybe you could change where you get your imprints from?"

"Hm?" Fetlock looked at Silver with a new intensity. "What do you mean?"

"You were very clearly using intelligences from earth, as templates." He waved a hoof over Fetlock, where the images were displayed during the act. "We have a lot of humans to work with, probably helps. But you may avoid a lot of trauma if you reach for Equestrians, or at least things of the same species? Sure, some humans want to be a pony, so it works out for them, but a lot didn't plan on it, and..."

"This isn't my spell!" hotly noted Fetlock, scowling with renewed intensity. "I stole it. I don't know how to modify it. I use what I have. I have grown... experienced in its use." Her horn sparked as if to show off. "But that doesn't make me--"

Samantha pointed at Silver, her face mashed up against her colt's side in a fond nuzzle. "He can modify spells. It's his talent."

Fetlock stormed forward, her face suddenly right up in Silver's face, pushing him back, but coming right with him. "This is too much. This is too perfect. How? Why? How do I even start to accept this, you just showing up where I might..." She trailed off, lips moving without sounds.

Silver backed up just a little, smiling. "You had a hole, and you called a human to fill it."

"I did not summon you!" she stormed, stomping from hoof to hoof in an impotent show of confused rage. "My magic didn't make you. You came on your own."

"Sympathy from another Text?" ventured Silver with a shrug.

"What?"

"Never mind." He reached a hoof and she didn't stop him from half-curling an arm around her. "Let me see that spell and I'll do what I can. If we can avoid... awkward copies, that's good, right?"

"Good, yes... That would be good." Fetlock flopped back, letting out a huff. "Sometimes humans ask for humans, you know. You are a human." She glared at Silver. "You made me call a human. It happens. Calling from the human world may be what I do. Will you stop me?"

"He won't," sang Samantha, bouncing her foal in her magic, the two giggling at one another.

"I want... you to have the power to make a decision." He rose to his hooves, his legs shaking a little.

A thing Fetlock noticed. "Why are you upset? It's my world you just shook apart!"

Silver directed a hoof at himself. "I am a human, brought here much the same way. Another Text, but I have no reason to assume it's any different. I'm... not me."

"Pardon?" Fetlock clicked her tongue. "What?"

"I'm not David Silver... I'm... soft clay... pressed into his image..." He crashed to his haunches, a bit floored at the idea. "Wow..."

"Ha, at least you get to know the sting of complete systematic existential discorporation." Oh, how smug Fetlock looked, watching Silver's moment. "This at least makes us even. Very well, I accept your offer." She trotted off suddenly, vanishing into the maze of shelves and things. "One moment!"

Samantha raised an ear. "I'm not."

Silver inclined his head. "No, you're not." She was the child of clay, not clay herself. "Your child is."

"And I love him very much." She blew a raspberry against his belly, getting a loud squeal and wriggles from the colt. "Oh! A name. You require one." She drew the colt away and slowly turned him in the air for a good look. "I will call you... Dusty Shine. That is what I thought of before. You look like a Dusty Shine!"

"He is a fine Dusty Shine." He reached over to set a hoof on his... grandson. "Hello, Dusty Shine. Be good for your mother. She'll try her best, I'm pretty sure." The colt reached and put a hoof on Silver's snout. "I have one of those too," chuckled out Silver. "Welcome to being a pony."

The colt gurbled. An agreement? Hard to say. But they were smiling warmly, and the three of them came in close, unified in growing familial warmth.

Author's Note:

This chapter has so much in it...

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Comments

[Nightsclaw]

Well, that changes things. Glad this story is still going :)

[Numinos]

Well-well-well. You just stole my idea for my yet unwritten story from my head : )

That's kinda awefully symmetric to the plot... Eh, still great story : )

[David Silver]

10927768
Hm? How do you mean? Got me curious now.

[Numinos]

10927799
Eh, basically the idea of generic HiE, but folks that get there are copies of the originals. Mechanics are different of course, but it was just a curious observation.

[David Silver]

10927876
Ah, fair enough that! It is more likely than me typing this message from Equestria.

[Booster Spice]

Select All, Copy, Translate, Paste?

[Well Geboren]

10927886
If that's true, then send a picture of you with your bat wife and the foals.~

Sorry, her name escapes me at the moment.

[David Silver]

10928029
Night Watch, she who watches the night, and runs the numbers.

[Well Geboren]

10928045
Thank you

[harts fire]

Dusty Shine i like this name.
i remember reading this story back when it started and i still love it. 6 years and counting.

[David Silver]

10927754

10929470
This is the story that never ends! (Well so far as people like it enough to patronize it)

[PinkDragonJr]

interesting development. not unexpected considering how far this story has reached in the past.

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

But the magic was not following the motion, instead pressing tight into the image from all angles, peeling away with an echo, a reflection of the image. The image faded away entirely, fading into the ether. The magic slammed down into the center of the runes. The jar was engulfed in the magic, melting away, merging with it and it began to rise in a new shape of pure light that faded quickly into a dappled pink and white form, a tiny unicorn filly flopping over with a tiny squeak of surprise.

In this paragraph the new pony is a filly. Elsewhere they are a colt.

[David Silver]

11247030
They were a female spirit to start with. Things get confusing.

[Alvsecret]

Fetlock's eyes were closed, focused on the calling. Even she didn't entirely understand it, but she could feel the great writhing mass that was the infinity possibilities, slowly winnowed down as she focused, each tagged briefly by her own subconscious, judged instantly, burrowing ever deeper towards the target.

Infinite